Reading group 'makes life easier' for people with dementia
For Paul McCooey, reading with others has become a vital support.
Paul, who has dementia, has been participating in a reading group designed for individuals with the condition.
"When you get this thing hitting you, you think 'this is it, this is the end of the world,'" he said.
"But now we have our group together, we talk about our problems, we swap ideas and so on."
"We now have something to say, and we do say it."
Paul, from Belfast, is not alone in experiencing positive effects from reading with others while managing dementia.
'It makes life easier'
Research conducted by academics from Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and Dementia NI indicates multiple benefits from meeting over a book.
These benefits include increased enjoyment, improved quality of life, enhanced social engagement, and better mood.
Paul had always been an avid reader but feared that dementia would end this part of his life.
"I forget things, I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing sometimes," he said.
"I still read but I have to work really hard."
"You try to do what you were doing before but it's really, really difficult and you sort of have to keep on going."
However, being part of a shared reading group in Belfast has provided support.
"People sit down in a group and we read large bits out of books," he explained.
"It's to learn something and to read a book but it's more than that."
"It's where you actually try to express yourself, and once you're trying to express yourself it makes life easier for you."
Dementia NI has established several reading groups, and various libraries have started running groups for people with dementia, including Roscommon County Libraries in the Republic of Ireland.
Hilary Daly from Roscommon County Libraries noted that those living with dementia attend the groups accompanied by their carers.
"We read a short story and then we read a poem and we discuss what's in the short story and in the poem, we explore it a little bit," she said.
'It gets the creativity flowing'
Aisling Brennan from Roscommon County Libraries described the experience of running the groups as "really positive."
"With short reading, it can be interpreted in so many different ways," she said.
"We often find that we read a story and talk about one thing, and then we end up talking about something completely different."
"You never know what way the story is going to go."
"It gets the creativity flowing."
There are six libraries in Roscommon, and Aisling mentioned plans to expand the reading groups across all of them.
Dr Jane Lugea from QUB has collaborated with Dementia NI to establish the reading groups and evaluate their impact.
They have developed a resource pack offering guidance for organisations interested in creating their own reading groups.
"We read fiction and poetry and both play different complementary roles," Lugea said.
"People often assume that reading literature is a skill that might be lost with dementia, that's not the case."
"Or at least it doesn't have to be."
"If you make adjustments it can be an activity that's still enjoyed, even more so when you do it in a social setting because that brings additional benefits."
'Lots of benefits'
Dr Lugea explained that social isolation and lack of stimulation can exacerbate dementia symptoms, and reading together in a group helps to counteract these effects.
"So there's the reading and getting back into reading that it offers, but there's also the social aspect of reading together," she said.
She also noted that, more broadly, reading for pleasure has "plummeted," although it has been demonstrated to improve wellbeing.
"Reading is something that brings with it lots of benefits," she said.
"There's plenty of reasons why we should do it but also why we should do it socially."
